Exxon Q2 Profit Rises, But Misses Estimates

Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, said its second-quarter profit rose 41% to $10.68 billion, or $2.18 a share, from $7.56 billion, or $1.60, a year earlier, missing the $2.34 a share analysts were expecting due to slack production growth and a slump in international refining earnings. Revenue rose 36% to $125.5 billion.

Texas-based Exxon (XOM) said production rose 10% to 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, but analysts were expecting a 12% increase. Non-U.S. refining earnings fell 20% from a year earlier to about $622 million, according to Bloomberg News.

Exxon, a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is targeting production growth of 3%-4% this year. Earlier this month, the company said it is looking to make more acquisitions to boost its exposure to shale gas, adding to its $34.9 billion purchase of XTO Energy last year, a deal that made Exxon the largest U.S. natural gas producer.

XTO now manages a U.S. resource base equivalent to about 76 trillion cubic feet of gas, compared with 45 trillion at the time of the acquisition by Exxon, according to Bloomberg. Exxon added today that it remains committed to the integrated business model and that it does envision spinning-off its downstream operations as smaller rival ConocoPhillips (COP) recently announced it would do.